Trust is Earned
by SimplyMe51
Summary: Toothless is wounded in a storm long before the events of the movie and a young Hiccup stumbles upon him in the cove off Raven's Point. They quickly bond, learning to trust each other and becoming fast friends.
1. Prologue: First Meeting

Hiccup stumbled through the forest, a mere boy of seven years, unable to understand why none in his village liked him. He did his best to fit in, talked often of killing dragons and fighting battles, and attempted to wrestle with his peers, but no matter what he did it just wasn't good enough. Couldn't they see that he was trying? He would never give up, despite his unhappiness his upbeat attitude wouldn't allow that, but as he grew older his sarcasm grew with him. He scowled, thinking of Snotlout's last insult, and wondered what he could have said in return, in order to stand up for himself.

Too lost in thought, Hiccup didn't pay attention to where he was walking and stumbled through a crack between two rocks. He fell onto a ledge above a valley he had never seen before. There was a small lake in the valley and Hiccup's curious mind pushed him to explore, temporarily forgetting the disappointment he was to his society.

He hurried down the steep slope, his small form easily navigating the cracks between rocks, and soon reached the lake's edge. Cupping his hands he scooped up some of the cool water and took a long sip, the walk having tired out his young body. When he had drunk his fill he sat back and laughed with joy. 'This is a place all my own!' he thought as he looked around the enclosed valley, 'no one else has been here before.' His young mind didn't think of his ancestors, who may have discovered the valley before, for all he cared was that he had a safe haven from his peers.

But Hiccup wasn't quite right in thinking that he was alone in the valley. A young dragon, injured wing by his side, had fallen there – buffeted and wounded by the storm that had occurred only a week ago. Hiccup's laugh startled him from his sleep and he jerked awake, opening his large yellow-green eyes and staring accusingly at the intruder. Hidden in the shadows as he was, Hiccup didn't notice the dragon at first, but the Night Fury was not short on curiosity either. He stood up slowly, slinking around the edge of the valley to investigate the young human that had intruded upon his temporary home. Weak with hunger, the young predator did not seem to realize how much noise he was making until the young human's head snapped up, their eyes meeting.

Instantly Hiccup's eyes widened in fear and he scrambled to get up, backing away until he was against the cliff wall. Unknowingly, the Night Fury had approached from the side of the cove that held the only entrance – Hiccup was trapped. The two stared at each other, Hiccup frozen with fear and the dragon struck by curiosity. He was young enough that he had seldom seen humans, and none this close, or this young.

They remained that way for some time, but when it became clear that the dragon was not going to attack Hiccup relaxed, his own curiosity overcoming his fear. For all his and his peers' boasting of how they would kill a dragon they were still too young to participate in the raids. He had seen a dragon before – occasionally they would have to evacuate the house they were in when it caught on fire – and he certainly knew all the types of dragons common on Berk – people talked about them often enough – but he didn't recognize the dragon in front of him.

"Night Fury?" he whispered questioningly, staring at the black dragon in front of him.

At the sound of the human's speech the dragon in question tilted his head, narrowing his eyes aggressively at the intruder. He lifted his lip, growling slightly, and Hiccup pressed himself back against the cliff wall, the fear returning. Eventually he had the idea to slide himself along the wall and so, slowly but surely, he managed to make his way back to the entrance. He hurried upward, racing back in the direction he had come. Before he knew it young Hiccup had returned to the village, fueled by adrenaline and fear. He gasped wildly, telling all he could find about the wild dragon he had seen in the woods. Within a few hours though, he had given up. No one had believed him about the dragon, and so he told no one of the cove he had found.

* * *

The next day he returned to the cove, inching in slowly. The majority of his brain insisted that the dragon would have left by now – for he had not noticed the injured appendage – but some part of him was hoping it had not. Some part of him longed for another glimpse of the legendary dragon. This time he paused on the ledge, searching for the Night Fury (for he had confirmed that it was indeed a member of the unseen species), but he didn't have to look far before spotting him. The large creature was by the lakeside, sticking his head in wildly, attempting to catch a fish but clearly failing. The Night Fury was nothing if not persistent though, and in the long while in which he attempted to find a meal Hiccup took the time to pull out his notebook, drawing a quick sketch of the dragon.

It was then that he noticed the wound on the dragon's wing, and the protective way he kept it close to his body. His mind thinking furiously, Hiccup left the cove again, a crazy idea coming forming in his head.

* * *

It was a week after his first sighting that Hiccup finally mustered the courage to carry out his crazy plan. He returned to the cove a third time, fish in his hands and medicine at his belt, wrapped up in an old shirt of his. This time the dragon was again dozing, but in plain sight, and Hiccup cautiously made his way down to the bottom of the cove. The Night Fury perked up as he approached, but he was weak with hunger and did little more than watch warily as the boy approached, sniffing as he spotted the cod in the boy's arms. He longed to eat but he still had no reason to trust the young human and growled when Hiccup got too close. Hiccup hesitated, but the low growl was the only sign of aggression from the beast and he inched slightly closer.

This time the dragon narrowed his eyes, barring his teeth and growling louder. Hiccup stopped, doubt flooding his mind, and held out the fish, not daring to come any closer. The dragon sniffed again, stretching his neck toward the fish, but he made no move to approach the Viking. Thinking quickly, Hiccup tossed the cod in front of the Night Fury, hoping to move in while the reptile was distracted.

The Night Fury sniffed the fish once but was too hungry to examine it further. He gulped it up in one swallow, giving Hiccup no time to approach. Hiccup narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, realizing that one fish was nowhere near enough for a starving dragon, but he was unwilling to leave so soon. He inched closer, sitting as close as he dared to the dragon that he imagined could probably swallow him whole. Hiccup was not a large Viking by any means but what he lacked in physical stature he made up for with his emotional stature. Though he didn't quite realize it, he was one of the bravest Vikings around, for not many would approach a Night Fury unarmed, and fewer still would have at the tender age of seven. But Hiccup wasn't aware of any of this, not concerned with his bravery as he contemplated how to help the dragon.

They remained that way for some time, once again staring at each other, neither budging from their spot. Eventually though the sun began to fall in the sky and Hiccup stood, walking to the edge of the cove. He knelt, grabbing several sticks and crafting a miniature lean-to for the medicine he had at his belt. He did not want to take it back to the village nor did he want it spoiled by bad weather. When he was satisfied that his lean-to would hold he stood, sent one last glance back at the dragon, and left the cove.

Young and innocent as he was, Hiccup did not realize how much it meant that he had turned his back on the Night Fury. To any forest animal, to turn your back indicated a deep level of trust, showing that you trusted the other not to attack you while your back was turned. It meant a lack of fear, and while it could have been a foolish gesture to a more dangerous predator the Night Fury was more intelligent than your average beast. He was in no shape to attack, but also intrigued by the young human's trust.

* * *

The next day Hiccup returned again, a small basket of fish upon his back and one in his hands. This time as he approached the dragon stood, approaching him. Hiccup stopped his movements, startled by the turn of events, but nevertheless held out the fish for the hungry dragon. The Night Fury opened his mouth – startling Hiccup for a moment with the lack of teeth – and snapped his teeth into place, quickly gulping down the fish again. Hiccup sat, placing the basket next to him, and the dragon copied his movements, resting back on his haunches. Hiccup watched curiously as the dragon he had recently dubbed 'Toothless' began to cough, hacking up part of the fish he had so recently eaten and dropping it into Hiccup's hands. He held it reluctantly, unsure of how to react while the dragon stared at him expectantly.

Following the dragon's gaze from the fish in his hands to his mouth and back again Hiccup quickly realized what the Night Fury expected of him. He frowned but followed suit, as yet unaware of just how unappealing raw fish was. His first bite quickly rectified that lack of knowledge though and it took prompting from the dragon to force him to swallow. He offered a weak smile, not wanting to disappoint his new found friend – not to mention a dangerous dragon – and was surprised when the dragon attempted to replicate his actions.

His smile morphed into a more genuine expression as he realized how intelligent the dragon truly was, before this he had only seen them as mindless killers, and any fear that had remained quickly fell away. He shifted onto his knees, rising slightly, and slid the basket in front of him. "Here Toothless," he spoke quietly, opening the basket and tipping it onto the ground in front of the Night Fury. The dragon's ears perked up at the new name but his eyes remained fixated on the basket as the fish spilled out.

The dragon sufficiently distracted Hiccup stood, finally getting the chance to examine the wounded wing. It was quite badly damaged, and would take a while to heal, but even Hiccup's inexperienced mind was able to determine that it would leave no permanent damage.

Unfortunately, Hiccup was still small, and the basket of fish he had carried even more so, and it wasn't long before Toothless realized that the young human was examining his wing. He growled lightly, not so much to scare Hiccup but to warn him to stay away, and fled, standing a safe distance away from the Viking.

Hiccup felt disappointment at having been unable to help his new-found friend but it did not dampen his resolve.

* * *

Day after day Hiccup returned to the cove, bringing food whenever he could. Often he and the Night Fury did not interact, each sitting in their own corner of the cove left to their own thoughts. Despite the lack of interaction they grew comfortable with each other and Toothless no longer growled when the boy approached. Eventually, two and a half weeks after Hiccup's initial meeting with the dragon, he was allowed to touch the Night Fury's wing.

Though Toothless growled when he touched it, Hiccup could tell it was a growl of pain and frustration, one not directed at Hiccup but rather at his wound. Having grown up a Viking, in a village that experienced frequent dragon raids, Hiccup had seen many people clean and dress wounds (though admittedly there wasn't much cleaning going on in Berk) and was able to adequately coax Toothless into the lake, hoping to clean his wound. With much fidgeting on the part of the dragon, the wound was eventually cleaned and dressed with the herbs Hiccup had brought so long ago. He had also attempted to bandage the wound, but the wing was large and he had been unable to. Instead he had settled for scolding Toothless, instructing him to keep his wing out of the dirt.

* * *

A month passed in this manner and, though he didn't show it among his peers, Hiccup began to grow more confident in himself. Often he and Toothless would play, racing around the small cove or swimming in the lake, and as the dragon's wound healed they spent quite a bit of time together, beginning to understand each other's quirks and oddities, their likes and dislikes. Hiccup learned that Toothless hated eel and loved to be scratched. Toothless learned that Hiccup quickly grew depressed when talking about his home – often nudging him whenever he went off on a tangent – and that Hiccup was very clever.

* * *

By the time Toothless' wound had healed a lean-to had been constructed in the cove – a nicely built fort that Hiccup had constructed and designed himself. The dragon and Viking were now the best of friends and could almost understand each other's words. Yet despite this closeness, Hiccup was worried that Toothless would leave him now that he could fly again. Insecure as always, he couldn't help but feel that Toothless had only liked him for the food and medicine he had provided. Hiccup's fears were unfounded though, as Toothless was about to prove to him.

Hiccup gave his friend the all clear, looking over his friend's wing one last time. "You're all clear buddy," he said easily, trying not to convey his trepidation as he stepped away.

Toothless' eyes lit up as he shook himself with happiness, unfurling his wings fully for the first time in almost three months. He hunkered down, about to take off, but paused, glancing back at the Viking who had returned his flight to him earlier than he expected, and who had become his friend in the months they spent together. Hiccup watched, puzzled, as Toothless looked from him to his own back and then back again. '_Come with me,'_ he seemed to be saying.

Hiccup's own eyes lit up with wonder as he fully realized what Toothless was offering. He had thought of riding the dragon before, soaring through the skies with a view that no Viking had ever had before, but this was Toothless' first flight on his 'new' wings. It was a special thing, as the Night Fury would prove that he belonged in the sky, and Toothless wanted to share it with Hiccup. He hesitated but Toothless didn't budge, staring at him expectantly, and he grinned, running over to Toothless and climbing up onto his back. His small legs quickly struggled to hold on and he leaned over, hugging the dragon's neck.

Toothless took off quickly with a powerful stroke of his wings, speeding high into the sky, but he slowed down soon enough, mindful of the rider on his back. Together they glided through the sunset, reveling in the glory of the flight, and Hiccup's hold began to lessen as his curiosity overtook his fear. He could feel his friend's powerful muscles straining underneath him, longing to be free, and before long he nudged them toward a cliff face, asking Toothless to land. As much as he loved the feeling of flying with his dragon he knew he was holding Toothless back.

Toothless acquiesced, landing gently on the cliff, and Hiccup slid off as easily as his small body could manage. Without words Toothless understood what Hiccup was doing and sent his rider a look of gratitude. '_Thanks'_ he appeared to say, taking off faster than before as he strained his unused muscles. He shot forward, quickly disappearing from Hiccup's sight, but all fear Hiccup had of Toothless leaving had vanished when he first sat on the dragon's back.

He sat down, content to wait, and pulled out his notebook – already planning several saddle designs. Gobber had recently apprenticed him in the forge – one of the few Vikings who acknowledged his existence – and he was already thinking of which metal he would use and how to forge it. He was so excited he didn't dwell on the fact that it would be a long while before he was able to forge anything, small and inexperienced as he was. For now he would make do with what he had. Leather he could get easily enough.

* * *

By the time Toothless returned Hiccup had already planned several saddle designs. He showed them eagerly to Toothless but the Night Fury only yawned, worn out from his long flight. His yawn only served to remind Hiccup how late it was and he climbed aboard his dragon once more, hugging tightly as Toothless led them back to the cove. Once there Toothless used his lightning to light a small fire in the much used pit and Hiccup leaned against Toothless, modifying his designs by the light of the fire. As Toothless fell asleep beneath him Hiccup too drifted off and boy and dragon slept together under the starry skies.

* * *

The years passed and Hiccup and Toothless began to understand each other more and more, communicating in a language that no other Viking had spoken before. The lean-to in the cove grew with them, filled with things Hiccup brought from Berk but did not return, old saddles that he had outgrown, and other odds and ends. It became a regular hut and every now and again Hiccup spent the night in the cove, falling asleep before he could return to Berk – though more often than not he slept beside Toothless and not in the shelter of his hut. If Hiccup was bothered by how little he was missed he stopped showing it. Though he still spoke to Toothless about his troubles in the village he began to care less and less with the goings-on of Berk. He even began to refer to it as 'Berk' or 'the village' in his head, not 'home' or 'my village'. He was careful enough not to stay out too often, even the village misfit can be missed, but nobody was ever sorry to see him go. His mishaps in the forge and his clumsiness on the ground did not endear him to the village folk any more than his unnatural smallness and his lack of a desire to kill dragons.

And so Hiccup and Toothless grew together, living in the cove off Raven's Point, and becoming far more together than anyone ever thought they would be alone. They faced few challenges, alone as they were, but of course such peace never lasts - and every Viking has to go through Dragon Training.

* * *

**AN: Well, I hoped you liked it. This wasn't really something I had planned out - I really should be writing other things - more of a spur of the moment idea that I really wanted to write out. I have an idea of how this would alter the movie but I may or may not write it. Let me know if you think I should continue and whether or not you liked it! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Training Begins

**AN: So, I decided to continue this after all. Just a few quick notes:**

"This is regular speech."

'These are thoughts.'

'_And this is Dragonese._'

**Let me know what you think!**

* * *

Hiccup crept into his house slowly, trying to avoid a confrontation with his father. Usually he snuck around the inhabitants of Berk easily, his lithe form leading to silent footfalls and his time spent with Toothless having taught him to walk unseen, but after the mishap of last night's raid his father was waiting for him.

"Hiccup, we need to talk," Stoick said, rising from his spot near the fire.

Hiccup winced, turning to face his father. 'I should have stayed with Toothless tonight,' he thought ruefully, knowing that it never would have happened. If his father had noticed his disappearance… well it wouldn't have been fun.

"It's time you learn to fight dragons. You get your wish. Dragon training...you start in the morning. You'll need this." Hiccup froze, unable to speak as Stoick handed him the axe, almost too heavy for him to hold.

"I don't want to fight dragons," he insisted, fear racing through him at the very thought of harming Toothless.

Stoick merely laughed. "Come on. Yes you do," he spoke dismissively, turning back to the fire.

"Rephrase. Dad I can't kill dragons."

"But you will kill dragons." Stoick turned back to him expectantly, still not believing his son's words.

"No, I'm really very extra-sure that I won't."

"It's time Hiccup."

"Can you not hear me?"

"This is serious son!" He grabbed the axe again, picking it up and forcing Hiccup to hold it properly. "When you carry this axe, you carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us, you talk like us, you think like us. No more of… this."

"You just gestured to all of me."

"Deal?"

"This conversation is feeling very one-sided."

"Deal?" Stoick asked a second time, anger beginning to creep into his voice.

Hiccup sighed, glancing down at the axe in his hands. He didn't know how he was going to get out of this one. "Deal," he finally conceded, glancing back up at his father.

"Good. Train hard. I'll be back. Probably."

"And I'll be here. Maybe." Hiccup watched his father leave, resigned, and set down the axe as soon as the door shut. Not wanting to think about what he had just agreed to, he headed upstairs and tried to get some sleep.

'Great, just great,' Hiccup thought as he lay awake in his bed, unable to sleep. He was going to have to learn how to kill dragons all the while hiding the fact that he didn't want to kill dragons. Not to mention he knew quite a few tricks to handle angry or scared dragons that he would be unable to use. If he showed off those tricks people would surely get suspicious. He would do anything to protect Toothless – even fail dragon training in front of the entire village. Maybe he could just grab an eel or two, and hope that their scent would keep the dragons away from him. That way they wouldn't hurt him and he wouldn't give anything away. With these troubled thoughts the Viking rolled over and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

Hiccup tagged along behind his peers as they entered the arena, ignoring their comments about him. He was not looking forward to this at all.

"Let's get started!" Gobber announced, pulling him from his thoughts. "The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village."

As Hiccup lagged behind Gobber threw a supportive arm around him and ushered him forward, pushing him in line with the other Vikings. "Don't worry. You're small and you're weak. That'll make you less of a target. They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead," he said cheerily, obviously attempting to cheer Hiccup up.

Hiccup gave a weak smile, but Gobber had completely misinterpreted his fear. He wasn't worried about the dragons at all, though he could hear them screaming in their cages. He winced; he had always avoided the arena for this reason. None of them were saying anything intelligible, nothing he could understand, but he could still hear the pain in their voices as they screamed in rage and fear.

"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight," Gobber announced grandly as Fishlegs bounced and giggled with excitement, barely able to contain himself at the thought of seeing so many different dragons. Hiccup just grimaced again and was glad there weren't more. As Gobber went over each kind, and Fishlegs muttered comments in his ear, Hiccup thought back to what he knew of each individual species, and the encounters he had had with them in the wild. Gobber pulled a lever, breaking him from his thoughts as the cross beam on the last of the doors was raised.

"Whoa, wait! Aren't you gonna teach us first!?" Snotlout was the first to speak, alarmed at Gobber's actions.

"I believe in learning on the job." Gobber pulled the lever all the way and the Gronckle thundered out of its cave, charging into the ring. The Vikings scrambled to get away, avoiding the deadly predator.

"Today is about survival," Gobber told them. "If you get blasted, you're dead. Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?"

"A doctor?" Hiccup muttered, thinking of how Gobber and the teens would react if he spoke to the dragon in its native tongue.

"Plus five speed?" Fishlegs inputted as the teens continued to run.

"A shield," Astrid spoke strongly, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

Gobber nodded. "Shields. Go," he instructed them, watching as they all scrambled to pick one up. Hiccup grabbed his and ran, ever light on his feet as he continued to evade the Gronckle. "Your most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield."

As Ruffnut and Tuffnut fought for their shield the Gronckle approached them, intent on taking them out. Hiccup hesitated, wondering if he should help, but he hesitated for too long and the dragon took aim, blasting the shield out of their hands and sending them to the ground.

"Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you're out!" Confused, they stumbled out of the way as the Gronckle swallowed a pile of rocks nearby. "Those shields are good for another thing. Noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim."

Hiccup snorted as everyone began to hit their shields, that may work with a Gronckle but not every species of dragon was so easily distracted. The training continued and soon Snotlout and Fishlegs had been eliminated. Astrid rolled near Hiccup, who offered her a weak smile. "So, I guess it's just you and me huh?" he said, hoping to start a conversation.

"No. Just you," Astrid returned dismissively, rolling away as the Gronckle approached again.

Hiccup ducked behind his shield, allowing it to take the full blast, and then rolled away, getting to his feet lightly as he raced away from the Gronckle.

"One shot left!" Gobber reminded them as the Gronckle turned toward Astrid – the closer target. It dove straight toward her but Astrid clumsily dodged the shot, summersaulting away again. Gobber finally approached, wrestling the angry dragon back into its cave, and Hiccup watched regretfully, wishing he could have helped the dragon.

* * *

Hiccup left for the cove as soon as he could, easily slipping away from the other Viking teens. He had seen Astrid give him a suspicious glance earlier when he had evaded the Gronckle, but his out of place actions had quickly been forgotten. Hiccup may still have been clumsy in his day to day life but growing up with dragons as his only friends had taught Hiccup how to dodge, and as clumsy as he was on the ground he and Toothless moved as one when together. He wasn't nearly as clumsy as he used to be and, approaching the cove, he easily navigated the rocks, jumping from the ledge to land lightly on his feet in the cove.

Toothless was nowhere in sight and Hiccup gave a loud whistle, heading to the lean-to to fetch the saddle. Toothless had evidently been in the area for as Hiccup returned the dragon was landing, greeting Hiccup happily.

'_Hey bud_,' Hiccup returned in Dragonese, his tone conveying he was in no mood to talk. He gave Toothless a quick scratch on the neck as he strapped the saddle on and Toothless sent him a concerned look.

'_What happened?_' he asked, unaware that Hiccup had begun dragon training.

'_Later,_' Hiccup said shortly, jumping into the saddle. '_Right now, let's just…_' he trailed off but Toothless understood, unfurling his mighty wings and taking off with one quick down stroke. He poured on the speed and Hiccup leaned over, the two becoming one as they navigated the evening sky.

Dragon and rider headed for the stacks of rock sticking out of the sea, looking for a challenge, and it wasn't long before they reached them. Hiccup grinned in anticipation as Toothless hit him with his ear flap playfully and then together they dove in, full of anticipation. They flew around the stacks at top speed, looping and twisting and turning, straining every muscle as they narrowly avoided being hit. Together they looped around and around, never leaving the stacks as they remained close to the sea, taking every possible route between the tall towers of rock.

Eventually they rose above them, panting and exhausted, and Toothless shot a victory bolt for their successful flight. Hiccup grinned, recognizing Toothless' trick, and removed his feet from the stirrups, crouching on the saddle as they approached the fireball. Toothless shifted beneath him at the exact moment Hiccup jumped and he flew above the fireball laughing, his earlier troubles forgotten as he landed on Toothless' back. He remained standing on the saddle, Toothless slowly rising, and together they headed for one of the larger rock stacks, landing on top of it lightly.

Hiccup easily jumped down from his position atop the saddle, sitting immediately and leaning against Toothless, who had also settled himself upon the ground. '_Thanks,_' he said gratefully, watching the approaching storm clouds.

Toothless merely purred slightly in reply, having enjoyed the tough flight just as much as Hiccup had. He was well able to recognize that something was troubling his rider's mind and was more than willing to wait for Hiccup to get it off his chest.

'_I started dragon training today,_' Hiccup finally said, turning reluctantly to face his dragon.

Toothless started slightly, eyes widening in shock. That hadn't been what he had expected at all. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. '_Why?_' he finally asked simply, aware that Hiccup did not need another person criticizing his every move.

Hiccup too took a moment before speaking. '_My father,_' he replied, pausing as Toothless growled slightly. They had had many debates on the capabilities of Hiccup's father but they both knew it wasn't the time to get into that. '_I know he just wants to protect me but…_' he put his face in his hands for a moment before turning to look at Toothless. '_They're trapped in there, screaming and scared but I couldn't help them. I know…I know it's not my fault but…_' his gaze turned distant, his mind going back to the arena. '_I wish I could help them._'

Toothless didn't have to ask who 'they' were. '_It's not your fault,_' he reinforced, nudging Hiccup gently. '_One day we'll get them free – they won't be there forever._'

Hiccup perked up slight, nodding in determination. '_I know. It's just – nobody deserves to be treated like that._'

The Night Fury growled in agreement with Hiccup's words, jostling his wings slightly and forcing Hiccup to stand as he too got up. '_Nobody deserves to be treated as you are either,_' he said, a fact that he felt Hiccup forgot far too often. Hiccup just shook his head, chuckling slightly at the comment he heard far too often in his opinion. He heaved himself onto the dragon's back just as the rain began to fall, the cold water chilling him quickly.

* * *

After heading to the cove and removing the saddle from Toothless, Hiccup returned to Berk in a better mood then he had left it, heading to the great hall for his evening meal. The large doors rattled as he entered and he arrived just in time to hear Gobber begin, speaking to the teens sitting together at one of the many tables, their own meals already finished.

"Alright. Where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?" he asked, gazing at them expectantly.

"I mistimed my summersault dive. It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble," Astrid replied quickly, ever the perfectionist.

"Yeah. We noticed," Ruffnut informed her sarcastically, scoffing.

"No, no, you were great. That was so 'Astrid'," Snotlout interrupted admiringly, staring at Astrid.

"She's right, you have to be tough on yourselves," Gobber told him as Hiccup approached the table. "Where did Hiccup go wrong?" He asked as Hiccup grabbed his food.

Ignoring the teens' derogatory comments Hiccup didn't bother to find a place at their table, instead heading to the nearest table and sitting alone. Bolstered by the evening's flight, and also slightly worn out, he tuned everybody out, digging into his meal. He refocused in on the group as Gobber set a book in the center of the table.

"The dragon manual. Everything we know about every dragon we know of," he announced amid a rumble of thunder that shook the hall. "No attacks tonight. Study up."

The teens fussed, Fishlegs instantly perking up while Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Snotlout immediately protested. They left shortly, following Gobber out the door, and Hiccup stood up, approaching Astrid, the last to go.

"So I guess we'll share—" he began. He had no expectations that Astrid would actually want to spend time with _him_ but he had to admit he was interested in what the book had on Night Furies and decided to be polite.

"Read it," Astrid told him shortly, pushing the book toward him and leaving.

'So much for being polite.' He grabbed the book, carrying it back to his table and setting it aside as he finished his meal. By the time he was done eating all the other Vikings remaining had left and he grabbed the few remaining candles, opening the book just as another rumble of thunder sounded from outside. He poured through page after page of different dragons, laughing when the information varied quite a bit from what he had learned in person. The facts were mainly correct but all the warnings merely served to remind him of how little Vikings knew about dragons.

When he finally reached the Night Fury page it was blank, save for a few details. "Speed unknown. Size unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself," he read aloud. "Never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you." At this he openly snorted. Toothless was dangerous, of that he had no doubt, but he couldn't help but think of all the times that his dragon had acted like nothing more than an overgrown kitten.

* * *

The next morning the arena had been arranged like a maze, small fragile walls running through the entire area. Hiccup grinned, it would be easy to hide in there, and he had a mind for puzzles – it wouldn't take him long to memorize the layout. His grin faltered slightly as he heard the angry roar of a Deadly Nadder and he turned into the maze, running off without bothering to grab a shield.

He heard Gobber criticize him from his spot above the ring but ignored it, focusing his senses on determining the position of the Nadder. He had played hide and seek at night with a Night Fury – avoiding the Nadder, and his peers, would be a piece of cake. He took a sharp turn, ducking against a wall as the Nadder hopped on top of the maze, searching out its prey.

"Today is all about attack," Gobber told them. "Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter."

Hiccup smirked at that. No problem. He tilted his head, listening for the Nadder, but all he heard was the sound of the other teens finally entering the maze. He slid down the wall he was taking cover behind and closed his eyes, listening carefully. He heard the Nadder ready its tail spikes, Fishlegs' scream as they headed straight for him, and then the sound of the spikes against the Viking's shield.

"I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods," the larger boy squeaked loudly with fear.

Gobber ignored him. "Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike."

'Smart,' Hiccup thought, 'but it won't be long before the Nadder turns its head.' As the sounds of the Nadder neared him he stood noiselessly, slinking through the shadows as he moved along. Ignoring the sounds of the twins arguing he avoided his peers and pressed himself against another wall.

"Blind spot? Yes. Deaf spot? Not so much." He heard Gobber announce as the Nadder attacked the twins.

Glancing around the corner he watched as Astrid confronted the Nadder, only to be stopped by Snotlout's foolish attempts to impress her. Hiccup laughed to himself as the irate dragon took off after the two teens, glancing up at Gobber watching them closely. Suddenly he heard the sound of the maze walls collapsing behind him, spinning around to see Astrid come flying through the dust. She crash-landed on top of him, laying him out in a limb-tangled mess, and he struggled to get free.

"Oooh! Love on the battlefield!" Tuffnut joked crudely.

"She could do better," Ruffnut responded dismissively.

As the Nadder approached Hiccup managed to untangle himself from Astrid, sliding out from underneath her. He growled a quick '_Back off!_' at the approaching dragon, quiet enough not to be noticed by the other teens but loud enough to stop the dragon in its tracks. Astrid took the opportunity to stand, swinging her axe and hitting the Nadder with the flat side of it.

Hiccup winced as the Nadder yelped and scurried off, Gobber hobbling to wrestle it back into its cave. He relaxed his tense position, noticing for the first time that all eyes were on him.

"Is this some kind of a joke to you?" Astrid asked angrily. "Our parents' war is about to become ours. Figure out which side you're on." She stormed off and Hiccup watched, stunned, knowing perfectly well that she was quite unaware of just how accurate her words were.

'I'm not on either side,' he thought furiously as the rest of the teens left the arena. 'I just want to stop the fighting!' He sent a regretful glance back at the Nadder's cage before he too left.

* * *

Toothless was waiting for him as he arrived in the cove and Hiccup sent him a grateful smile. The dragon training was draining beyond belief, doing nothing more than reinforcing his thoughts that he was helpless, but the time spent with Toothless was more than enough to make up for that.

Seeing that Hiccup was still depressed Toothless pounced, knocking Hiccup to the ground as he licked his face. That elicited a laugh and Toothless backed off, pleased with himself. Hiccup sat up, grin wide on his face.

'_What was that for bud?_' he asked as he stood, wiping his face with his sleeve.

Toothless just smirked, taking off slightly and grabbing Hiccup's small arms with his claws, dropping him in the lake. The teen surfaced quickly, sputtering, and Toothless dove down, entering the lake near him with a loud splash. Hiccup laughed, swimming over and jumping on Toothless' back, attempting to force his head underwater. The Night Fury snorted, jerking his head upward, and Hiccup lost his grip, falling back into the water with a splash. Toothless quickly turned, hoping to push Hiccup under, but Hiccup used his size to his advantage, diving under the dragon and climbing aboard him from the other side. Unable to shake him off, Toothless rolled, belly up, forcing Hiccup to release him and surface.

The two friends continued in this manner for a short while longer, leaping and pouncing on each other as they rough-housed in the water, before finally stopping, out of breath. Hiccup tread water lightly, smiling as he caught his breath, and Toothless dove beneath him, resurfacing with the Viking on his back. Despite the lack of a saddle, Hiccup instinctively settled himself into position, legs hugging the dragon's neck, and Toothless leapt out of the water, flapping wildly to get them into the air.

Finally managing it they shot up into the air, water streaming off them as they left the lake. They didn't bother to stop and fetch the saddle – Hiccup had been riding Toothless for years and as long as they didn't execute any complex maneuvers he was more than capable of holding on – instead flying lazily through the sky. Hiccup nudged Toothless toward a common relaxation spot for them, a cliff where the rocks were formed in square columns and where Terrible Terrors often rested.

There was little vegetation and prey on the barren island but the little that was there was the perfect size for the miniature dragons. Hiccup and Toothless were friends (and if not friends then at the very least acquaintances) with many of the small families that resided there.

The two friends spent the rest of the afternoon on Terror Island (as Hiccup had named it) and enjoyed their time playing with the young Terrors. Toothless had a hard time keeping them from climbing all over him but Hiccup didn't mind in the slightest. The Terrors were the same speed as him on the ground and he raced across the rocks with them as their parents sat and watched.

As the sun began to set Toothless curled up beside the fire he had lit and Hiccup sat down beside him, leaning against his friend. The Terrors followed suit, resting themselves anywhere they could find: one on each side of Hiccup, another on his lap, and several more finding spots on Toothless. The dragon in question snorted slightly but was far too used to the small dragons' antics to react.

Hiccup smiled at the coziness of the scene before he began to speak, capturing the attention of the Terrors as he told them a scary story that he made up as he went along. He added both Vikings and Dragons in the story and, though his eyes were closed, even Toothless was listening closely, for Hiccup was a very good story teller.

The tale ended, Hiccup finishing with a menacing '…_and she was never seen again!_', and one of the young Terrors squeaked loudly.

'_That didn't really happen, did it?_' she asked, staring up at Hiccup with wide eyes.

'_Of course it didn't,_' one of her older brothers boasted, '_everyone knows trolls aren't real._'

Hiccup smiled, rubbing the young Terror's head. '_It's just a story_,' he reassured her, nudging another of the Terrors off his lap and standing. Toothless followed suit, yawning and shaking the Terrors off his back as he too stood.

'_Can't you tell another story?_' one of the other Terrors asked as Hiccup hopped onto Toothless.

Hiccup chuckled slightly at the dragons' enthusiasm. '_Sorry, it's time I headed back. My own family is missing me._' Toothless snorted beneath him and as they took off he growled at Hiccup.

When they were out of range of the other dragons the Night Fury spoke up. '_You know perfectly well no one is waiting for you back at your village,_' he said angrily. While Toothless always supported Hiccup and tried to bolster his confidence he hated it when Hiccup denied the obvious. Hiccup refused to admit that his situation was less than ideal and it annoyed Toothless to no end. Hiccup needed to admit that how his village acted was wrong but the Night Fury had never been able to make him do so.

* * *

Because Hiccup didn't have to remove the saddle Toothless flew them as close to Berk as he dared, dropping off Hiccup on the outskirts of town. Despite this the darkness had already fallen by the time Hiccup had returned and he knew he was late for dinner with the other dragon training recruits. He said goodbye to Toothless quickly, hurrying toward the abandoned catapult tower. He doubted anyone was waiting for him but they were sure to notice if he didn't show up at all. He arrived just in time to hear Gobber finish the story of how he lost his limbs.

"Hey guys," he greeted, stepping forward from the shadows and causing several of them to jump – he hadn't realized how silent he had been.

Snotlout scowled at him, annoyed at having been startled, and then promptly ignored him, turning back to Gobber. "I swear I'm so angry right now. I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot," he promised. "I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight, with my face."

"Un-unh. It's the wings and the tails you really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away," Gobber responded, finally turning away from Hiccup, who he had been staring at searchingly. "A downed dragon is a dead dragon."

Hiccup half nodded to himself, remembering back on that time so long ago when he had first met Toothless and the helpless state the dragon had been in.

Gobber stood and stretched, throwing Hiccup a look. "Don't be late again," he warned him before turning back to the recruits. "I'm off to bed. You should be too. Tomorrow we get into the big boys. Slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who'll win the honor of killing it?"

He hobbled off and the teens began boasting about who would get the honor of killing the dragon. Hiccup felt sick, staring at his food morosely as he listened to them easily discuss the taking of another's life. As their conversation side-tracked into other things Hiccup followed after Gobber. There really was no point in remaining while their instructor was gone; it wasn't like anyone would bother to speak to him, not to mention that he didn't even want to participate in the conversation.

* * *

The next morning Hiccup left Berk early, rising with the sun. Toothless was still sleeping when he arrived at The Cove, curled up on his charred spot of grass that had long since cooled, and Hiccup headed straight for him, smiling at the sight as he took up his usual pose leaning against his best friend.

The Night Fury shifted slightly, opening one eye to stare at Hiccup. '_What are you doing up so early?_' he grumbled, closing his eye and shifting into a more comfortable position for Hiccup.

'_Couldn't sleep_,' he responded, leaning back and gazing at the sky. '_I couldn't stop thinking about how we're going to get those dragons out of there_.'

Toothless yawned, opening both eyes and picking up his head to stare at Hiccup. '_I still say you can't get them all out at once,_' he told him.

Hiccup nodded. '_Yeah, you were right about that,_' he conceded. '_I just can't figure out which order. As soon as they notice one is gone they're sure to add more security._'

'_Make it look like an accident,_' Toothless suggested.

Hiccup shook his head. '_That will only work with the first one or two._'

'_You'll never know until you try. Get the Terror out tonight and see what happens._'

The Viking teenager was silent for a while, thinking about what he was going to do and running through the scenarios in his mind. '_Alright,_' he finally agreed, standing. '_You going to give me a lift back?_' he asked playfully, grinning.

Toothless grumbled slightly, getting to his feet and stretching out his wings. '_You were the one who had to get up so early,_' he protested half-heartedly.

Hiccup's grin widened – neither of them would ever pass up an opportunity to fly with the other – and he leapt aboard the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Neither of them spoke on the short ride back to the outskirts of Berk and Hiccup leapt off lightly while Toothless was still in the air. He straightened up, giving a quick wave to Toothless as the dragon headed out over the ocean to look for breakfast.

* * *

"Today is about teamwork," Gobber announced as they paired up, Hiccup predictably partnered with Fishlegs. "Work together and you might survive." He threw open the door to the Hideous Zippleback's cage and gas immediately flooded the arena, covering the teens. Hiccup grinned, this was his element. "Now, a wet dragon head can't light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which."

Hiccup closed his eyes, relying on his other senses to track the Zippleback around the arena, trying to block out Fishlegs' muttering beside him. "Shhh!" he chided, opening eyes as he listened to Snotlout and Tuffnut mistake Astrid and Ruffnut's shadowy forms for the dragon.

Fishlegs ceased his mutterings as the two groups began to fight and Hiccup tensed, longing to circle around and avoid the dragon but instead forced to remain with his partner. He heard the swish of the dragon's tail and the subsequent thudding as the teens were caught off guard and knocked to the ground.

"Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now…" Fishlegs voiced pessimistically as they watched the other recruits head out of the arena.

Hiccup ignored him, listening hard for the dragon. "Look out!" he warned as the gas-spewing head approached.

Fishlegs panicked before he could say anything else, throwing his water and drenching the head. The dragon merely leered at him, spewing more gas, and Fishlegs fled in terror leaving Hiccup alone in the ring.

As the second head appeared above Hiccup he heard Gobber yell for him and threw his water at the dragon, purposely missing the head. The Zippleback grinned at the apparently easy kill but Hiccup just smirked right back, using the cover of the gas to show the Zippleback the eel under his vest. The dragon sniffed the air, confirming what he saw, before hissing loudly and drawing back, retreating so far as to back itself into its cage. Hiccup walked forward to shut the cage, smiling sadly, and turned to find everybody staring at him.

"Are we done?" he asked nervously. "I've got to…" he jerked his thumb, indicating he had to go somewhere, and trailed off, uncomfortable with all the stares. "Right, um… see you tomorrow." He fled, unhappy with the attention he had brought to himself, and quickly made his way to the Cove – ready to plan out the rescue of the Terrible Terror.


	3. Beginning the Rescues

Both Hiccup and Toothless agreed that it would be pointless to wait – Hiccup needed the light to make the "escape" look like an accident and they wanted to avoid the Vikings who were feeding the dragons – so they didn't spend long refining their plan before leaving the Cove. They flew easily to the ring, both of them heading inside, not worried about being seen. The ring was isolated enough that as long as they flew low no one from the village would spot them but Hiccup was still worried about how long the plan would take. Feeding took place around the same time every day but Vikings didn't know the meaning of punctual - they fed the dragons when they felt like it and Hiccup didn't know when that would be today.

He hurried inside and, upon entering the arena, hurried over to the Terror's cage, quickly searching the tool belt he had constructed for the proper tools. Before he got to work though, he first pulled the lever, opening the cage door and releasing the Terror.

It scurried out quickly, hissing all the while, but stopped as soon as it saw Toothless. Puzzled, the dragon froze, cocking its head as it started at the much larger Night Fury.

Off to the side, unnoticed by the dragon, Hiccup spoke up. '_Calm down, this is a rescue, not an attack_,' he said with a grin, amused by the Terror's actions. Terrors were regularly mischievous dragons but could become quite ferocious when threatened – not quite formidable, given their size, but they knew how to use their small stature to their advantage, a fact Hiccup knew all too well. However, Terrors also weren't the smartest of dragons and the sight of the rare Night Fury was more than enough to confuse the trapped creature.

The Terror turned its head toward him, noticing him for the first time. Hiccup held up his hands. '_We're getting you out of here._' he repeated, smiling at the small dragon.

'_Truly_?' the Terror asked, uncertain about the fact that a Viking was about to help him to gain his freedom but also trusting the strange young human who spoke Dragonese and smelled so much like a dragon. Hiccup nodded and the Terror reacted by flapping his small wings and perching himself on Hiccup's shoulder. He growled his thanks and Hiccup reached up to scratch the dragon's neck, leaving him purring in delight.

Toothless nudged him, reminding him of his task, and Hiccup refocused, kneeling down next to the trap door. He fiddled with it for a good fifteen minutes, Toothless watching anxiously and the Terror resting on his shoulders, but eventually finished his task. He gave the door one good kick, watching as it fell apart in a way that suggested it had broken under the onslaught of the small dragon. He had loosened all the bolts - or exchanged them for worn and deteriorated ones - and no one would suspect that any human had been involved, especially because a Terror could easily slip out of the arena unseen.

Satisfied with his work Hiccup looked around the arena one more time, making sure he hadn't left any tools or extra bolts behind. Inspection complete he hopped upon Toothless, setting the Terror in front of him as the black dragon ran out of the arena, leaping off the cliff and flying away safely. Near the Cove, away from Berk and its inhabitants, Hiccup finally let out a loud whoop, yelling into the air. Beneath him Toothless growled in agreement, executing a wide loop in midair to convey his own satisfaction. As Hiccup held onto the Terror to keep him from falling off he felt the smaller dragon too purring in happiness and couldn't help but grin wildly as they leveled out. They had done it!

He let loose a small laugh as they landed in the Cove, unsure of how to express his excitement. He had rescued a dragon from the Vikings of Berk - stolen it out from under their very noses. Sure he had saved dragons before, shook them from their thrall, caught in the Queen's mind, but never before had he saved a dragon that the Vikings had already captured.

'_Welcome to your new home_!' he announced proudly to the Terror - who had hopped off of Toothless' back to get a drink from the lake. Still bubbling with excitement, Hiccup couldn't sit still. '_Make yourself at home, Toothless and I are going flying,_' he told the Terror, more than aware that he could never keep up with them. Hopping once more aboard his dragon they took off into the sky, twirling upward as they let loose their excitement.

The dragon and his rider flew for some time, expelling energy by practicing some of the harder moves in midair, Hiccup jumping off or standing in the saddle, Toothless attempting to glide upside (with Hiccup still seated) or fly on his side. Eventually, as the sun began to sink in the sky, they settled down on a part of Berk that they still hadn't explored yet. Hiccup didn't even care that he was missing dinner with the other teens, more than willing to take whatever punishment Gobber would decide to give him - it wasn't like he hadn't already experienced them all before, earned or unearned.

As Toothless took off again to go fishing Hiccup began to gather firewood, setting up a place to cook his own meal as he explored the grassy slopes of the mountain, searching for caves. Unfortunately for the young Viking, this was a place he had yet to explore and he was unaware that there were indeed caves nearby - caves in which a very territorial Bullrougher lived. Bullroughers were pretty rare on Berk and tended to live in grassy, mountainous lairs in large caves. They also happened to have one very sharp two foot horn on their foreheads, which they used to charge at their victims.

Caught unaware Hiccup was the direct target of such a charge, barely jumping away at the last minute thanks to his many years rough housing with dragons. He fell to the ground with a shout of pain, wincing at the glancing blow to his upper left arm, and glanced at the dragon that had charged past him. It had stopped its charge, turning again to face him and snorting a warning. '_Stay off my land_!'

Hiccup couldn't help but wince again as he saw the horn that had injured him. He knew without a doubt that if he hadn't moved he would be lying face down in the dirt - dead - and for the first time he truly appreciated how much his reflexes had changed from practically living among dragons.

Before he could say anything, however, he head the telltale sign of a Night Fury approaching and grinned, watching as a ball of purple lightning lit up the ground next to the Bullrougher. As Toothless landed in front of him Hiccup realized that it wasn't just his dragon that had changed him, but that he had also changed his dragon. Night Furies never missed. Never. And yet Toothless had, not because of bad aim but because he knew that Hiccup would have been against harming the wild dragon, no matter what said dragon had done to him.

As the two dragons growled at each other Hiccup winced from his spot on the ground, propping himself up with his uninjured arm. '_Stop_!' he cried, worried that Toothless would get hurt in the ensuing fight. The other dragon didn't react, still growling menacingly at Toothless, but the Night Fury backed down, looking worriedly at Hiccup. _'Look, I'm sorry we intruded on your territory, we didn't know_,' he insisted. The Bullrougher growled menacingly. '_We're going to leave_,' Hiccup told it, standing slowly, '_and I promise we won't come back_.' He walked slowly to Toothless, the wild dragon still watching his every move, and painfully got into the saddle, holding his left arm in his right.

Toothless took off as gently as possible, trying not to jostle Hiccup too much, and headed straight for the Cove, not glancing back. He took quick smooth strokes, neither of them speaking as Toothless concentrated on remaining as still as possible. Eventually they reached their destination and Hiccup slid off Toothless, pale from blood loss. He leaned on his dragon as he headed to the lean-to, gathering bandages and herbs for his wound. Given his clumsy nature and the fact that he ran into wild dragons every other day this wasn't the first time Hiccup had sustained an injury during their adventures. It was however, one of the worst injuries he had ever gotten and, aware of the dangers of blood loss, he quickly wrapped it, grabbing a pot to fill with water. He staggered out the door, barely aware of Toothless' concerned gaze or the Terror's confused one.

Toothless immediately realized what Hiccup was doing. '_Help me,_' he growled at the Terror as he began to move wood from Hiccup's pile of firewood to the fire pit. By the time Hiccup had managed to drag the pot of water to the fire pit a fire had already been started, much hotter than any fire he could have started himself. With Toothless supporting him he managed to get the pot hanging over the fire, steam rising as a little splashed out.

He sat down immediately after, Toothless lying down behind him, and leaned back on the dragon - exhausted and in pain. The Terror curled up next to him, nudging him in concern, and Hiccup gave a weak smile. He closed his eyes, taking deep breathes to get through the pain, and groaned when he realized he still had dragon training tomorrow. '_Sorry_,' he mumbled without opening his eyes. '_I didn't mean to wander off._'

The Night Fury snorted, carefully not to move too much. '_I shouldn't have left,_' he corrected Hiccup. '_We've never been to that part of the island before._'

'_You didn't know I'd wander off,_' Hiccup mumbled half-heartedly, too exhausted to get into the argument of whose fault it was but also adamant that Toothless had done nothing wrong.

Toothless held back another snort. '_You're Hiccup, you always wander off,_' he said, amused.

Hiccup hummed lightly in agreement and amusement, too exhausted to say any more. Toothless let him rest, nudging him only when he could hear the water beginning to boil. He didn't snuff out the fire, aware that Hiccup was shivering slightly, but he knew the water would have to be cooled before Hiccup used it. Carefully, he used his tail to pick up the bucket by the handle Hiccup had used to hand it over the fire. He set it down beside Hiccup, stopping him when he reached for it distractedly.

The Viking blinked, realizing he had been about to burn himself, and sat up, wincing slightly. He slowly unwrapped the bandage he had wrapped over his shirt, pausing as he realized he would have to remove his shirt. He groaned again, leaning forward and slowly shrugging off his vest. Holding his left arm firmly to his side he struggled to remove his right arm, finally getting it over his head. From there he carefully peeled it off his left arm, inspecting the cut for the first time. It was both long and deep, going almost from his shoulder to his elbow, and Hiccup winced at the sight of it, just as both dragons hissed. He carefully dipped a rag into the hot water, wincing once more as he rubbed it against his wound.

When he finally finished cleaning it the wound was bleeding slightly once more and he hurriedly rubbed his salve in, quickly but firmly wrapping it once more. He didn't bother with fetching a fresh shirt, leaning back again as he rested once more. He closed his eyes as the Terror curled up at his side but didn't fall asleep, new thoughts racing through his mind. Despite the injury, Hiccup's good mood from earlier hadn't completely faded. He was exhausted and in pain but that had never stopped him before and it wasn't about to stop him now. Ideas of how he was going to deal with his injury - and dragon training - were running through his head, one after the other, until he finally came to one that he thought would work.

Excited he quickly sat up, ignoring the twinge from his wound. '_Perfect!_' He exclaimed distractedly in Dragonese - a language that had eventually replaced Norse as his default language.

Behind him Toothless lifted his head, staring at Hiccup expectantly, recognizing the boy's look. '_I'm not going to like this, am I?_' he asked, well aware that if Hiccup had concocted a plan to deal with his injury it likely didn't take Hiccup's own pain into account.

Unfortunately Toothless' thoughts were correct and Hiccup had come up with a clever plan to free another dragon and reveal his injury to Berk while at the same time suffering pain and humiliation as his own part of the plan. Toothless growled lightly but knew that nothing he could say would convince Hiccup to change his mind. Besides, it was a good plan, no one would suspect Hiccup of helping the dragon to escape, nor would they question Hiccup's injury, but that didn't mean that Toothless had to like it.

Together the two dragons and one Viking plotted, refining the details and slumbering together under the stars. Hiccup didn't bother to head back to Berk and join the other teens for dinner - for the first time since dragon training began he didn't care about keeping up appearances. Gobber would probably admonish him when he showed up tomorrow morning but he couldn't bring himself to care, it wasn't like anyone missed him anyway, they were actually probably glad he wasn't there, or, even more likely, they hadn't even noticed he was absent. With these thoughts Hiccup set up his hammock, falling asleep with Toothless beside him and the Terror curled up next to him.

* * *

The next morning Hiccup returned to find the village gossiping about the missing Terror, admonishing themselves for not checking the doors more often. He was glad to hear that nobody suspected outside involvement, easily accepting that the Terror had made his escape due to old bolts and a faulty door. Hiccup passed by them all unseen, meeting up with Gobber and the other teens and making sure to keep his left arm away from them. He was counting on his status as 'Hiccup the Useless' to keep them from noticing that his injured arm was remaining stiffly by his side. Luckily Gobber was more distracted by the fact that Hiccup hadn't joined them last night and said so.

Hiccup shifted uncomfortably. "Sorry, I ... I uh, went for a walk in the woods," he improvised, well aware that it would have been pitch black by the time the other Vikings had finished their dinner.

"It was dark," Gobber deadpanned, giving him a disappointed glare - something Hiccup was more than used to.

Gaining confidence at the familiarity of the conversation Hiccup shrugged, holding back a wince as he belatedly remembered his injury. "I got lost," he said, making sure he sounded appropriately embarrassed.

Thankfully it worked, the teens snickering behind him and making jokes about he probably got lost in his own home. Hiccup ignored them as always, well aware that he could run circles around them in that forest. Given how often he left Berk he knew the woods like the back of his hand, and maybe even better than he knew Berk.

Gobber also accepted his excuse, scolding him for several more minutes before leading them to the ring. Due to the fact that the Terrible Terror had 'escaped' they would be working once more with the Deadly Nadder, this time without the maze.

Hiccup tried to remain out of the way, skirting the edge of the ring in order to prevent anyone from noticing his injury, but he couldn't stop the Nadder from charging him. As he ran through his compilation of tricks, hoping to stop the Nadder without hurting it, the Nadder stopped in front of him.

The confused Viking watched anxiously as the equally confused dragon sniffed him curiously, obviously finding something unusual. Distracted, Hiccup almost spoke in Dragonese to question the dragon but he caught himself just in time. Unfortunately his distracted mind proved ill for the Nadder as Hiccup hadn't realized that Astrid was approaching with her axe, once again hitting the Nadder with the flat side of her weapon. The dragon squawked a shriek of pain and the lesson ended as Gobber once again forced it into the cage. He grinned slightly, time to execute the plan.

* * *

As they left the arena the teens gathered around Astrid, congratulating her on her successful attack, and Hiccup lagged behind the others, waiting until they turned the corner before he turned around and jogged back to the ring. He stopped by the entrance, whistling lightly, and Toothless flew up from his hiding spot beneath the cliff to land lightly beside him. Hiccup went immediately to the saddle where his torn and bloody shirt from earlier was tied down. He changed quickly, removing his bandages and replacing his clean shirt with the ripped one, not bothering to be gentle. Though it was painful to move his arm he needed the wound to look fresh, which would work best if it reopened.

Toothless shifted uncomfortably as he saw the blood dripping down Hiccup's arm but he didn't say anything. He knew this was the best plan yet but he hated that Hiccup had to suffer for it. He walked down to the arena, helping Hiccup to open the cage door, before leaving Hiccup alone. He flew off again, prepared to execute his part in the plan, but he hated that it was such a small part. 'Not small to Hiccup,' he reminded himself. Besides, if he didn't help get the Nadder to safety then all of Hiccup's efforts would be for naught and he wasn't about to let that happen.

Back in the ring Hiccup had opened the Nadder's cage door. It hissed loudly but he held up his hands, wincing all the while. '_I'm here to help,_' he said. '_I've got a plan to get you out of here but you've got to follow along._'

The Nadder cocked her head, interested. '_I'm listening boy,_' she said distrustfully.

'_We're going to pretend I was fighting you,_' Hiccup spoke quickly, knowing that the teens and Gobber were getting farther and farther away. '_You're going to knock me out, then make sure you roar loud enough for everyone to hear. After that you can leave, but it'd help if you flew over the village, making sure they can see you. There's a Night Fury waiting for you on the other side of Berk, he'll lead you somewhere safe._'

'_Why must I be seen?_' the Nadder asked, warily, '_And why must I hurt you?_'

'_I'll explain everything later,_' Hiccup told her, '_just try to open my wound when you knock me out._' The Nadder shifted uncomfortably but agreed, desperate to escape.

Hiccup closed his eyes, trying to relax his body as he anticipated the blow, and the Nadder swung around, using her tail to send Hiccup flying through the air and against the wall. As Hiccup sunk into unconsciousness the Nadder sniffed him, worried that she may have hit him too hard, and then brushed her tail against his wound, opening it more.

* * *

The next thing Hiccup knew Gobber was leaning over him, shaking him awake. He winced, blinking his eyes rapidly as they adjusted to the sudden influx of light - which certainly wasn't helping his headache - and noticed that the rest of the teens had followed Gobber. For probably the first and last time in their lives they were looking at him in concern.

"Hiccup!" Gobber yelled as he closed his eyes again. "What happened? We saw the Nadder fly by."

Hiccup groaned, grateful for the wall behind him that propped him up. He opened his eyes again, much more reluctantly this time as he prepared what he considered was the worst part of the plan. He was about to play into the entire village's perception of him: a weak and clumsy mistake of a Viking who would never be able to handle a dragon. "I was-" he paused, coughing. "I was just trying to train," he managed to say weakly. "I thought-" he coughed again, wincing as he sat up. "I thought it would be good practice."

Now that it seemed he wasn't going to die anytime soon the teens dropped their concerned stares and Gobber eyed him disappointingly. "You should know better than that," he scolded.

Hiccup winced, sitting up further and checking that his wound had stopped bleeding. If anyone would see through his act it would be Gobber. "I... I just want to make my dad proud," he stammered, aware of how vulnerable that would make him to his peers but also aware that it was his best chance of convincing Gobber.

The blacksmith simply shook his head, helping Hiccup up. "C'mon, let's get you to the healer," he said, leading Hiccup out of the ring. Behind them Hiccup could hear the teens laughing at his failure but that only strengthened his resolve, solidifying his belief that he had done the right thing - no one was even thinking about the Deadly Nadder that had escaped, instead focusing solely on Hiccup's failure.

* * *

Back in the village the healer barely looked over Hiccup's wound, more than used to the teen's mishaps, and for that Hiccup was grateful. An experienced mind would more than be able to tell that the wound was not merely minutes old and had in fact already been treated. Luckily the man barely even glanced at Hiccup as he distractedly wrapped the injury, choosing to speak with Gobber instead.

"Should have expected something like this – putting him in dragon training?" the man shook his head, completely ignoring the fact that Hiccup was sitting right there.

Gobber too ignored Hiccup, nodding his head. "Aye, but it would have happened sooner or later. Better now than in a raid."

Hiccup didn't know whether to wince at the harsh words or smirk at the fact that he had managed to fool all of them. He chose instead to speak up in his usual sarcastic manner. "I am right here you know," he deadpanned, not surprised when neither of his elders looked his way. He sighed lightly, leaving the house now that his wound was treated, before quickly poking his head back in. "Does this excuse me from dragon training?" he asked.

Of course Gobber had to hear that. "Not a chance lad," he replied, giving Hiccup a stern glance before continuing his conversation.

Hiccup mentally shrugged. 'Oh well, it was worth a try.' He knew everyone was expecting him to return to his own house and rest, exhausted by his injury, but he was planning to take advantage of that – nobody would expect him at dinner tonight. Shrugging off the remains of his pain from the Nadder's hit he hurried out of Berk, silently making his way to the Cove. It was time to explain everything to the Nadder and go for a nice relaxing flight with his own dragon.

As always he smiled at the very thought of Toothless, lithely slipping between the rocks at the entrance to his home away from home. 'Actually, it's probably more of a home than Berk is,' he thought as Toothless greeted him, worriedly questioning him about his injuries.

He pushed the large black head away from him, smiling. '_I'm fine bud,_' he insisted, shifting accommodatingly as the Terror perched itself on his right shoulder, nudging his head. He reached up and scratched the small dragon under the chin as he continued to console Toothless, displaying his bandaged arm. '_Look, the healer took care of it, I'm _fine,' he emphasized once more.

Toothless just glared at him. '_Don't ever do that again,_' he demanded.

Hiccup chuckled at the Night Fury's over-protectiveness, '_I promise to never purposely injure myself again,_' he joked.

'_That's not exactly reassuring,_' Toothless returned in a similar joking manner, lightening up slightly.

Hiccup grinned, glad that his friend wasn't mad at him, and turned to the Deadly Nadder who had been watching the exchange curiously.

'_You are a Viking,_' she said, '_and yet you speak our tongue and smell of us._'

The Viking in question paused, not expecting that comment. '_Is that why you paused in the ring?_' he asked, having never thought about his smell before. The Nadder gave the dragon equivalent of a nod, growling in agreement, and Hiccup turned to Toothless. '_Do I really smell like a dragon?_'

'_You have spent far more time in our company then theirs,_' Toothless responded. '_There are few distinct Viking scents on you, and even those are faint._'

'_Huh, I never even thought about that,_' Hiccup said, stunned. '_I spend more time with dragons so I smell like a dragon._' The Terror on his shoulder chirped in agreement and Hiccup smiled. '_Well I suppose there's nothing wrong with smelling like a dragon._'

'_Not at all,_' Toothless growled in approval of Hiccup's acceptance. '_Much better than when I first met you – there were even fewer distinct scents then, but now you have _mine_._'

The possessiveness in his voice made Hiccup's grin widen and he placed his hand on his friends head. '_And I suppose you have mine._' The Night Fury growled in agreement and Hiccup gave his dragon a one armed hug before turning back to the Nadder. '_Alright, I suppose I owe you an explanation._'

Hiccup began to detail his plan, starting with the accident that had happened yesterday. He described the Bullrougher's territorial attitude, explaining all about how he had actually gotten the wound in the first place, before he went into the actual plan. '_I already rescued this little guy and made it look like an accident but I knew if I did that every time they would suspect something,_' he explained. '_So I decided to use my injury to make it look like I had been overpowered by a dragon. I need you to make the wound look fresh and I asked you to fly over the village so that the other teens would see you and turn back - I wanted them to catch me in the act, leaving no doubt as to what happened._'

'_And they believed it?_' the Nadder asked skeptically, finding Hiccup to be a very impressive and capable young Viking.

Hiccup snorted in reply. 'Why was it only the dragons who seemed to realize just how capable he actually was? They made the Vikings of Berk seem impossibly oblivious - though, thinking about it, it wasn't actually that hard,' Hiccup mused before answering the Nadder. '_Of course they did,_' he replied in a joking tone, '_to them I'm known as the incredible Hiccup the Useless._' He grinned, able to joke about his nickname in a manner that surprised even him. Befriending Toothless had done more than enough to prove to him that he _wasn't _useless and he was much more capable of joking about the insults thrown his way than he would have been otherwise. But the Nadder didn't know any of this and was surprised by his casual nonchalance.

Hiccup just shrugged it off, describing what had happened after the Nadder left, both for the blue dragon's sake and for Toothless'. Once finished Hiccup mentioned that it was time for a flight and the Nadder decided to join them, truly stretching her wings as they maneuvered around each other and raced late into the night.

* * *

**AN: **Wow, can I just say I never expected such a response to this story? I'm glad you guys like it and I hope you approve of the direction I've taken it, we're slowly pulling away from the movie until we leave it altogether so let me know what you think!

Thanks to MidnightSunset35, 9foxgrl, Allyieh, mr abomination, asia2000lover, Miles-tails-prowler, demonsLOver, great-growlithe-gamer, TheNiemand, Dragons-Sister, and SpazzyLassy105 for reviewing! And thanks to everyone who put this story on their favorites or follows list!


	4. The Vikings Return

After their flight Hiccup and Toothless spent more time planning on how to rescue the three remaining dragons. Hiccup was adamant that he should get out the Gronckle the very next night, but Toothless didn't agree.

'_The Vikings are still distracted by the Nadder,_' Hiccup argued, '_they haven't checked the rest of the doors since the Terror's escape._'

Toothless knew perfectly well that Hiccup was correct, but he also knew perfectly well that Hiccup was injured. '_You're left handed,_' he growled right back, '_and you'll need to use your left hand to use your tools._'

Hiccup shrugged, frustrated by his friend's over-protectiveness. '_So it'll take longer than usual, doesn't mean I can't do it._'

Toothless shook his head. '_And if you wait another day you'll be much faster._'

'_But if I wait another day they'll have checked the doors,_' Hiccup reminded the dragon.

The Night Fury grumbled but couldn't deny the truth in the Vikings words. They continued to hash out the plan as night fell, detailing every little part of the Gronckle's escape, before finally moving onto the topic of the last two dragons.

'_This is the last time this plan will work,_' Hiccup concluded, _'after this they're sure to check the doors and make everything doubly secure. And if we get the Nightmare out before Astrid gets the honor of killing it_' – for he had no doubt that Astrid would win – '_then they'll just get another dragon for her to kill.'_

'_So you want to get the Nightmare out the night before the kill?_' Toothless asked, incredulously.

Hiccup shook his head. '_I don't know. After we get the Zippleback out there are sure to be guards. All four dragons escaping? They wouldn't risk losing the Nightmare as well._' He looked through the flickering firelight to see the Nadder and the Terror snoozing together on the rocks. He had gotten them both out safely but he knew they were damaged from their time in the ring. They had chosen to stay with him instead of flying off into the wild – to potentially be captured again or caught in their Queen's thrall.

He was aware of just how much trust they were placing in him – trusting him to keep them safe – but could he repay that trust? Could he rescue their fellow dragons or would he loose them to the Vikings' ferocity? He didn't know.

Toothless, aware of Hiccup's melancholy gaze, nudged the teen gently, jolting him free from his thoughts. '_We'll get them out,_' the dragon said fondly, '_you'll think of something. You always do._'

Hiccup nodded blankly, leaning against Toothless as he drifted off for the night.

* * *

The next day Hiccup was thankful for his wound, which allowed him to hang back behind the other teens as they faced the Gronckle once more. Unfortunately the Gronckle got no such message and charged him, forcing Hiccup to reach up and knock out the round dragon, scratching her scaly chin and effectively ending their time in the arena.

Ever aware of his wound, Hiccup was forced to walk slowly along with the Viking teenagers as they clamored around him. This was the second time he had taken out a dragon and everyone wanted to know how he did it with no apparent force. He held off their questions for a short while before using the excuse that he had left his axe in the ring. The teens sent him puzzled looks but nobody followed as he returned in the direction they had come from.

As soon as he had rounded the corner to the arena Hiccup dove off the ledge. He knew that Toothless was waiting for him underneath and couldn't be bothered to wait much longer to free the Gronckle. He whistled slightly, watching as Toothless dove after him, the two falling side by side. Nearing the ground, Hiccup positioned himself in the saddle, the two pulling up at the last minute and gliding over the surface beneath them.

Together they quickly swooped around, flying easily through the sky as they circled the ring several times. '_This is getting to be too much Toothless_,' Hiccup admitted. '_I don't know how much longer I can pretend that I'm one of them. They swarmed me today after I had to take down the Gronckle – and it was just too much._' As they landed in front of the ring Hiccup sighed, hopping off Toothless and leaning against his best friend. '_It's the most anyone has wanted to talk to me in years and every word coming out of my mouth is a lie.'_

'_You've been lying to them for years,_' Toothless tried to comfort his friend as they opened the gate.

Hiccup shook his head. '_And no one actually bothered to listen to what I had to say then. I wasn't really lying, I just left and they never bothered to follow._' They walked to the Gronckle cage, Hiccup examining it closely. '_Now they all want to talk to me and I … I don't know how to deal with that._'

As Hiccup readied himself to pull the lever Toothless nudged him. '_It'll be over soon. Then everything can go back to how it used to be. Besides, is it so bad that everyone finally notices how wonderful you are?_'

Hiccup blushed and shrugged, uncertain of how to respond. Instead he chose to pull the lever, releasing the Gronckle and effectively ending the conversation.

The dragon burst out of its cage, glancing around wildly before resting her eyes on Hiccup. She flew over to him, her expression the dragon equivalent of a grin, and Hiccup knew she was expecting to be scratched again. He scratched her lightly on her neck, explaining the plan as he did so. The Gronckle readily agreed, watching as Hiccup fiddled with the door for a good half hour. When he finally finished she returned to the inside of her cage, watching as he closed the door once more. Thanks to his intervention however, one good hit and the door broke down.

She growled her thanks and Hiccup gestured up toward the chain roof. '_Do you think you can squeeze through those chains?_'

The Gronckle looked up, growling an assent before flying upward with a burst of speed, squeezing through the biggest gap in the chains. Hiccup grinned at the dragon's achievement, following Toothless out the door of the arena. Once shut he hopped on his black dragon, the two of them taking flight and leading the Gronckle on a merry chase away from Berk. Gronckles weren't the fastest of dragons but her happiness gave the freed Gronckle an extra burst of speed and Hiccup and Toothless remembered to restrain themselves as they led her to the Cove.

* * *

When Hiccup returned early the next morning the village was in uproar about the third escaped dragon. Vikings were berating themselves (and each other) for not double checking the doors after the Terror's escape. Hiccup was just thankful that dragon training was canceled so the villagers could reinforce the doors to the two remaining dragons' cages.

Unfortunately Gobber didn't get the memo, and decided that even if they couldn't train with the dragons they could still train. He gathered up the six teenagers, leading them to a meadow in the woods and handing each of them an axe.

"Today we'll be training for strength, not accuracy," he told them, "just throw as far as you can." As Snotlout prepared to throw his axe Gobber stopped him, gazing down sternly at the teen. "One at a time," he admonished Hiccup's cousin. "Astrid, you're first."

As the teens got ready – Astrid stretched; Ruffnut and Tuffnut pushed and shoved each other, sneering about which one of them was better; Snotlout boasted of his abilities loudly; and Fishlegs stood silently to the side – Hiccup looked down at the axe in his hand. He could throw it, of that he had no doubt, but it would be an awkward throw, flimsy at best. Axe throwing was just not something that he had practiced in the years he had gotten to know Toothless. Give him a knife any day, but an axe…

He looked up as Astrid threw hers, accurately and strongly, the axe sticking in a tree at the edge of the meadow. Snotlout cheered, praising Astrid as always, and Gobber turned to Hiccup.

"Alright Hiccup, you're up next," he told him.

Hiccup looked again at the axe in his hand. Give it his best and surprise them somewhat or chicken out and struggle to throw it?

"He'll probably just drop it," Snotlout sniggered as Hiccup paused for too long, the twins laughing and agreeing with him.

'That's it!' Hiccup thought, he was not going to take any more insults, he was tired of pretending, and he was tired of everybody laughing at him. He copied Astrid's pose as best he could, reaching back and hurling the axe. It wouldn't be accurate but he put as much power into it as he could, watching as the axe dropped three-fourths of the way through the meadow.

There was a stunned silence as the Vikings had their expectations completely smashed and Hiccup winced. 'That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do,' he thought, gripping his upper left arm in his right hand, grateful for the bandage under his shirt. Astrid was giving him suspicious looks again and Snotlout seemed to be speechless. Fishlegs was staring at him and the twins had momentarily stopped their fighting. Even Gobber seemed to be surprised.

"Must be all those muscles from working in the forge," Gobber concluded, turning to Snotlout. "You're next Jorgenson."

Hiccup held back a snort as the attention turned to Snotlout. 'Sure, all that time in the forge _must _be the answer. I couldn't possibly be good at something.' He shook his head. 'Snap out of it Hiccup,' he admonished himself. 'You're going to regret this.' And already he did. Not only had he taken out a dragon twice but he had displayed acrobatics none of them were expecting and now he had shown strength no one was expecting.

For the rest of their training together he held back, barely throwing the axe, clumsily handling the knife, and struggling with the shield. Everyone – especially Snotlout – was more than happy to pass off his first throw as a fluke and Hiccup was quick to use his injury as an excuse when Gobber got curious. By the time they finished only Astrid was still suspicious, cornering him as they left the meadow.

"I normally don't care what people do, but you're acting weird. Well, weirder. I want to know what's going on. No one just gets as good as you do. Especially you," she threatened. "Are you training with someone?"

'Alright Hiccup,' the dragon rider told himself, 'play it cool – act nervous and pretend like you don't have any clue what she's talking about.' "Training?" he said out loud, cowering slightly. "What do you mean? Didn't… didn't you see…" he gestured feebly toward the meadow. "I could barely even lift the shield!"

Astrid snarled. "Except everyone seems to be forgetting that you lifted it just fine the first day of training!"

Hiccup fumbled, not faking the nervousness this time. 'Oh man, I can't believe I forgot that! Way to go Hiccup,' he scolded himself. "Yeah… well, uh, well I … I wasn't injured then," he managed, barely coming up with an excuse in time.

Not quick enough though. Astrid punched him, sending him to the ground. "That's for the lies," she said before dropping her axe on him. "And that's for everything else."

Hiccup yelped as the axe hit him but his only thoughts were for his dragon. 'Man I'm really glad Toothless didn't see this,' he thought as he lay on the ground, watching as Astrid followed after her peers, 'he would have killed her.' When she had disappeared from sight he got up slowly, ignoring the path the other teens had followed and turning around, heading straight for the Cove.

As he traveled silently through the woods plans flew in and out of his brain: ways to fool Astrid, what to tell Toothless when he got to the Cove, plans to convincingly let Astrid win at dragon training, what to tell his Dad when Stoick returned. As Hiccup headed into the Cove all the plans left his mind as he stared happily at the three dragons he had rescued, the three of them lounging together near the lake. 'Whatever else happens, at least I made a difference,' he told himself, looking down into the Cove and reminiscing.

Hiccup hadn't yet named the three dragons – excluding Toothless it usually took him a while to get a name for a dragon – but there were quite a few dragons he had named over the years.

Scarlet, Dawn, and Fang were three mischievous young Terrors he had known for a while. Forge was another, older Terror, whom Hiccup often snuck into the forge with him at night, using the tiny dragon's flame to heat the fire hotter than he could – given the limited time he had for his secret projects.

Midnight was the first dragon he had freed from the Queen's thrall, a deep purple Nadder who still lived fairly close to Berk. Hiccup had freed her mate a year after that. Blizzard was a light blue and yellow Nadder who loved to fly through the storms for which he was named. Together they had three young dragons, Shadow – a darker purple than his mother – Snowball – so light blue she was almost white with purple tipped wings – and Spike – a common blue with yellow wing mix.

Hiccup also knew of a common Changewing nesting spot, an island not far from Berk. Though he hadn't named all the dragons there, there were two – Mist and Shortsnout – who enjoyed seeing him.

There were many dragons Hiccup had freed over the years, and even more he had met, but not all dragons liked to live in the same place year after year – especially with such obvious threats nearby. He hadn't seen Fireworm – a Monstrous Nightmare – in over two years. And then there was Stumpy, a Gronckle who had lost a leg to Vikings, who had lived with him for three years, adjusting to his lost limb, before finally flying off.

Hiccup had met so many dragons over the years that they all began to blur together. Some – like the Bullrougher who attacked him last week – wanted nothing to do with him. Others – like the Hideous Zippleback he had freed during a raid two months ago – merely spoke with him and then moved on. Still others – like Stumpy – stayed with him for a while before leaving. And finally there were the dragons who lived nearby – like Midnight – who visited Hiccup's Cove every once in a while.

The three dragons with him now were shaping up to be some of the last two kinds. And hopefully, in just a few short days, they would be joined by two more dragons. He smiled, thinking of the Zippleback and the Nightmare flying free, and headed down into the cove, greeting the three dragons and looking for his own.

* * *

The next few days passed quickly as Hiccup made sure to keep himself busy.

He spent his mornings stuck training against the Zippleback in the ring – Gobber was saving the Nightmare for the winner – and Hiccup made sure to stay out of the way. Thankfully, remembering the eel from last time, the Zippleback also stayed away from him. Only once did Hiccup have to dodge the two-headed dragon's attack, and only Astrid saw his usual clumsiness slip away. She alone remained suspicious of his abilities – despite his best efforts otherwise, Hiccup was second in dragon training. Yet again luck was on his side however, as Astrid focused on winning the competition instead of trying to figure out how he had suddenly gotten so good (at least from her point of view).

His nights were spent eating dinner with the teens, trying to evade their questions and the newfound attention of the town. He made sure to stay in town each night, heading straight to his room or the forge after dinner, quick to want to separate himself from the Vikings. The Terror had taken to spending nights in his room, the small dragon easily able to slip in and out of the village, and Hiccup was thankful for the company – he only wished that Toothless could be there too.

His afternoons were spent with the dragons. He treated any small wounds they had accumulated in the arena, carefully looking them over. He took them to the cliff where he had found a field of dragon nip, the five of them – four dragons and one human – spending their time rolling in the grass and diving in the ocean. He introduced the Terror to the families he had met on Terror Island, allowing him to spend time with the other small dragons. He led the Nadder to Midnight's Cave, introducing her to fellow Nadders. He showed the Gronckle the small quarry he had been shown by other Gronckles, allowing her to eat the best rocks she had had in quite some time.

Together the group of five got to know each other in just a few short days. The dragons were routinely surprised, but quickly accepted, how close Hiccup and Toothless were. They seemed to enjoy spending time with Hiccup as much as he enjoyed spending time with them. Hiccup taught the dragons which spots on the island to avoid, where other dragons lived, and the best fishing spots. Twice he had to avoid Astrid in the woods, furiously practicing her skills with the axe.

Eventually his short reprieve had to end however and dawn the next day a lone, battered ship returned, overflowing with the remaining Vikings. Hiccup watched from afar as Gobber greeted Stoick, the two battle-brothers quickly catching up with each other. There would be no dragon training that day but tomorrow… Tomorrow he had to go against Astrid for the chance to kill the Monstrous Nightmare – which meant tomorrow night he would be getting the dragons out of there. After that there was no going back. The Vikings would know immediately that someone had helped the dragons to escape, he could only hope that his reputation kept them from suspecting him.

He turned away from watching the Vikings disembark, heading into the woods. If something did go wrong, if he did get caught, well, he wanted to spend today with Toothless.

* * *

That night Hiccup went to the forge after dinner, absentmindedly sketching and improving on his designs as he worried about what was to come. He was more nervous than he had been in a long time, his mind far away as he thought of all that could go wrong, and didn't notice when Stoick appeared in the doorway.

When his father cleared his throat Hiccup jumped, hastily covering up his designs – he couldn't remember if there were any dragon related inventions he was working on. "Dad! You're back!" he exclaimed, acting as though he hadn't seen the ships in the harbor. No need to tell his father he had woken early to send the Terror back to Cove before dragon training. Though why his dad was visiting him he didn't know. "Gobber's not here," he continued.

"I know. I came looking for you," Stoick responded.

Hiccup was startled, mind racing with the possibilities. Did his dad know about the dragons? 'No, he'd be angrier if he did,' he told himself. 'Maybe he's just angry I let the Nadder escape?' He hesitated and his dad spoke again.

"Gobber tells me you've been doing well in dragon training." The large Viking smiled, beaming down at Hiccup, and he felt relief wash over him. It was just dragon training – his dad didn't know his secret.

He laughed nervously, shuffling his feet. "Yeah, well um, I did let that Nadder escape," he voiced awkwardly, cringing and waiting for his father to yell at him.

Stoick only laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "Everyone makes mistakes, yours just happen to be larger than others," he said easily. "Besides, I heard you took out the Gronckle and the Zippleback."

Hiccup blinked at his father in astonishment, ignoring the slight insult. 'Everyone makes mistakes? Where was that attitude before? Since when did Dad not get upset when I messed up,' Hiccup thought. 'When you took down a dragon,' he responded to his own question with disgust. His dad wasn't proud of him, not really, just proud of the killer he thought his son was becoming. He shrugged uneasily up at his father, not willing to encourage the man, and Stoick continued.

"And believe me, it only gets better! Just wait till you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time. And mount your first Gronckle head on a spear. What a feeling!" Stoick laughed again, smacking Hiccup on the shoulder and sending him into the wall. "You really had me going there, son. All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen! Odin, it was rough. I almost gave up on you! And all the while, you were holding out on me!"

Hiccup understood – taking out two different dragons was more than his father had ever expected of him. 'He was probably just hoping I wouldn't get eaten.' He shook his head. "It was just luck Dad, I … I don't know how I did it."

"But you did!" Stoick responded. "And even if it takes another year we'll make a dragon killer of you yet!" Stoick reached behind him, presenting a horned helmet. "I brought you something, to keep you safe in the ring."

Hiccup grabbed the helmet, awed. "Wow, thanks," he said sincerely. It was rare that he received something from his father, and even rarer that that something wasn't a weapon. Part of him was filled with joy, here was proof that his father cared about him and accepted him, but the rational part of his mind argued back. 'He wouldn't be so proud if he knew about the dragons.'

"Your mother would've wanted you to have it. It's half of her breast plate." Stoick smiled, tapping his own helmet. "Matching set. Keeps her close, y'know?" Hiccup eyed the mismatched helmets, grimacing. "Wear it proudly. You deserve it. You've held up your end of the deal."

Hiccup squirmed, forcing a yawn – no he really hadn't. "Thanks. I should … I should really get to bed," he returned, more guilty than before.

After an awkward good night Stoick left, leaving Hiccup alone with his thoughts. The teen collapsed on the stool, putting his head in his hands on the desk. "What am I doing?"

* * *

The next day Hiccup found himself in the ring with Astrid and the Zippleback, watched by what seemed to be the entire village. As Hiccup hunkered down behind a barrier he was joined by Astrid, the young Viking shoving her axe at his throat. "Stay out of my way! I'm winning this thing," she warned him.

Hiccup shook his head as she darted off. "Go ahead," he murmured, ducking low and summersaulting to another barrier. He glanced up, ignoring the cheers for Astrid, and quickly spotted Stoick among the onlookers. His father was watching him keenly, pride written all over his face, and Hiccup forced a half-hearted smile, still incredibly guilty that he was deceiving his father. He adjusted his helmet, slinking along to another barrier and acting as if he was approaching the dragon.

A few feet away Astrid had managed to whack one of the two heads and Hiccup was forced to jump out of the way as the other head swung around. He heard the crowd react to his close shave with the dragon but ignored it, watching instead as Astrid took out the second head, knocking out the dragon once and for all.

Hiccup stood up, shifting nervously as Gothi, the village elder, stepped forward, tapping her staff. He knew it would be noticed if he tried to leave but he didn't particularly want to stick around either. He managed to contain his nerves, moving toward Astrid and Gobber, who had just entered the ring.

Above them, Stoick held out his hands to silence the jabbering crowd. "Okay quiet down. The elder has decided."

Behind Hiccup, Gobber pointed toward Astrid, eagerly awaiting the elder's response. Gothi nodded and the crowd erupted into cheers. "Congratulations Astrid," Gobber crowed, "you get to kill the dragon!"

Astrid grinned proudly and Hiccup slunk off into the crowd that swarmed her, instantly forgotten. His dad would be caught up in his role as chief, hosting a celebration for the new great Viking warrior, and Hiccup wanted nothing to do with it. He headed away from the arena, looking back at the last minute and feeling a familiar pang in his heart as he realized – not for the first time – that he would never be part of them.

* * *

**AN: So, it's been awhile... Sorry about that. I'm back now but I can't guarantee anything for the next chapter. A huge shout out to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited this story - you were my inspiration to keep going, so give yourselves a hug from me. **

**I hope you like it.**


	5. Fishlegs

Hiccup paced around the Cove restlessly, unable to stop thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Everything was riding on tonight – there wouldn't be a second opportunity to try again. If he messed up then a dragon would die. And it would be his fault. Next to his pacing form Toothless was laying on the ground, following the teens every move with his eyes.

'_Enough,_' the dragon finally growled. '_You'll get nowhere if you keep worrying about it. Where's your bow and arrows?'_

Hiccup stopped in his tracks, startled. '_What?'_ he asked, turning to face the Night Fury.

'_You're not going anywhere until night falls,_' Toothless reminded him. '_So you need a distraction. Where's your bow and arrows?_'

Hiccup gestured behind him. '_In the house,_' he said, '_but I can hit a target from 200m already.'_

'_And the last time you held a bow was a week ago. Besides,'_ Toothless let loose the dragon equivalent of a mischievous grin, '_have you ever hit a target while moving?'_

'_I've hit a moving target before,_' Hiccup immediately protested, '_how do think I hunt?'_

'_I meant while _you_ were moving._'

The rider raised an eyebrow. '_You mean – flying?_' Toothless nodded, a habit he had picked up from Hiccup, and the teen grinned. '_That could be fun._'

Together they took to the sky, a quiver of arrows strapped onto Hiccup's back and a bow in his hands. He fiddled with it quickly, holding on with only his legs as Toothless flew low to the ground. '_We're going to need to set up a target!_' Hiccup yelled to his friend over the wind whistling in his ears.

Toothless just snorted. '_Why not catch me a rabbit?_' he called back. '_Carrying you always makes me rather hungry!_'

Hiccup laughed easily, his troubles slipping away. '_Don't blame me if you go hungry tonight!_' he returned, pulling an arrow from his quiver and scanning the undergrowth for life.

As the dragon's shadow swept over the meadow they were flying above a rabbit burst from the tall grass, frantically trying to flee. Hiccup nocked his arrow and fired, missing the rabbit by a good two feet. Undaunted he quickly reloaded, this time adjusting for the fact he was circling in midair. It was a much closer miss. Toothless let down in the meadow as the rabbit hopped out of sight and Hiccup dismounted to retrieve his arrows. '_We're setting up a target,_' he told the dragon. '_It's hard enough that I'm moving but add in the fact that the target's moving and you might as well make it impossible._'

Toothless conceded with a laugh, grateful that Hiccup had been sufficiently distracted.

* * *

That night Hiccup waited until his father's snores echoed through the house before sitting up. With a practiced ease he headed over to his window, hoisting himself outside. Despite the fact that it was the middle of the night Hiccup easily navigated the footholds that he had created over the years, shimming down the wall in no time. Quietly and quickly he made his way through the village, traveling the path to the arena without a sound. Soon he reached the natural bridge that connected the dragons' prison with the rest of the Berk.

Toothless was already there waiting for him, the Night Fury easily blending into his surroundings, and Hiccup quickly apologized. '_My dad took forever to fall asleep_,' he explained.

The dragon just snorted lightly, not wanting to discuss Hiccup's father, and the two of them headed into the arena. Not bothering with pretenses Hiccup simply opened the cages, allowing first the Zippleback and then the Nightmare to burst free.

They did so quickly, both of them ready to attack, stopping only when they realized they had been released by an unarmed teenager and his Night Fury. Hiccup explained what he was doing, and how he refused to let them die on his watch.

The Nightmare eyed him curiously. '_You are unusual, Rider, but I accept your help,_' he responded proudly.

'_C'mon then._' Hiccup led the three dragons out of the arena, sliding easily onto Toothless' back. Together the three dragons took off in a V formation, dragon and rider leading the way to the Cove.

Behind them the arena gate remained open, the doors to the two dragons' cages splayed open for all to see.

Hiccup didn't look back.

* * *

For the rest of the night Hiccup fidgeted restlessly in his bed, unable to sleep. He had successfully rescued the dragons, sneaking in and out of the village easily, and they were currently sleeping in the Cove. Except for Toothless. He gave up sleep as a lost cause and walked over to his window, watching the rising sun, and knew his best friend was doing the same. No doubt Toothless would be on high alert all day, anxiously waiting for news or Hiccup's screams for help.

But even if it did go wrong Hiccup had vowed to keep his mouth shut. He was more than aware of his dragon's superior hearing. It would not be him who exposed the illustrious Night Fury to the blood-thirsty Vikings. It would not be him who got Toothless killed.

Scenarios ran through his head – his father disowning him, being exiled from the village, a mob of Vikings wanting revenge – but not once did he allow Toothless to come into the picture. Toothless was safe – far away from Berk.

As he heard his father wake Hiccup swallowed his fear, squaring his shoulders and heading down for breakfast. 'I've been pretending all my life,' he told himself. 'Today should be no different.'

Breakfast commenced in an awkward silence – as it usually did in the Chief's household – and Hiccup was glad his father had to leave early to prepare for the ceremony. The whole village would be present for the killing and a grand affair was usually had by all. Hiccup had never attended, but then, he had never really been noticed before either. This time he had to be there.

He finished breakfast slowly, savoring these last moments of peace before leaving his house atop the hill. Trekking down the hill into the village Hiccup looked for the other teens, spotting them easily on their way to the ring. Astrid was among them, determination in her eyes as she smiled at the praise they heaped upon her. Hiccup joined them without their notice, trailing behind as they crossed the bridge with the other villagers. As they neared the arena however the procession slowed to a halt and Hiccup could hear shouts of dismay from up ahead.

"The dragons are gone!" echoed down the line, people craning their necks to see. Hiccup didn't bother - he knew the sight that greeted those in front, the open gate, the empty cages. Instead he waited anxiously, his mind wandering as the crowd grew restless. Astrid's determination had given way to fury and the other teens were more than indignant on her behalf, particularly Snotlout.

Eventually there was a loud clang from ahead and Chief Stoick's voice roared out over the tumult. "Enough!" he cried out. The crowd quieted. "Return to the village," their chief ordered them, "we will convene in the Great Hall."

Slowly the Vikings turned around, shuffling back along the narrow bridge as they headed back to Berk. Hiccup plodded obediently behind his peers, dreading what his father would decide. Was his reputation as Hiccup the Useless enough that no one would ever suspect him? He glanced at the sky, as if looking for answers, but the empty blue expanse was all that greeted him. He just wanted someone to talk to; someone to share his worries, to reassure him that it would be alright. It struck him that the names of possibilities running through his head were not people he would find in Berk. In fact, they were not people at all.

Every single being that Hiccup contemplated turning to for help was a dragon. Just what did that say about him? He pictured Toothless' protectiveness, Midnight's mothering, Forge's mischievous distractions, Fireworm's wisdom, and Ripwing's hero worship but not once did he picture a Viking he could turn to. He pictured his Cove in the woods, a place where dragons came and went freely but no Viking had ever entered. He pictured his lean-to and how it was littered with all of his most treasured possessions while his room in Berk remained sparse and bare.

'I'm more dragon than Viking,' he thought. 'I turn to them for help, I've learned how to use all my senses, I see better in the dark, I walk silently without thinking - I even have my own territory! But ... is it a bad thing to be like them? I never was much of a Viking anyway.' Hiccup was confused. He had always seen himself as an outcast, never pictured himself as a Viking, but that didn't mean he wasn't a member of this village. 'Would I really be upset if I was exiled for this?' he asked himself. But Hiccup didn't know the answer.

He shuffled into the back of the hall quietly, staying in the shadows and out of sight, dragging himself to the present. Now wasn't the time to wonder if he would miss Berk (he knew Berk wouldn't miss him), now was the time to listen. He waited anxiously but the hall was surprisingly silent. Word had gotten around that the dragons had been freed with outside help. It seemed he had miscalculated. Vikings weren't throwing blame around because none of them wanted to suggest that another Viking would do this. Siding with dragons went against every fiber of a Vikings being and to blame a fellow villager would be tantamount to saying that they weren't a Viking.

But blame was going to be placed and soon there were murmured suggestions running through the crowd. Two words, in particular, stood out: Alvin and Outcasts. Hiccup supposed it made sense. The Vikings would sleep better if they knew there wasn't a traitor in their midst. Attacking the Outcasts they could handle – living with a traitor would be decidedly more difficult.

Hiccup's father quickly agreed with the assessment, shouting once more to quiet down the hall. "If the Outcasts are responsible we will make them pay!" he vowed. "And if they're still on Berk we will find them!"

Cheers followed Stoick's announcement and the chief began dividing the villagers into groups. "We'll search the beaches!" he told them. Naturally Stoick himself would lead one group, as well as Gobber, Spitelout, and so on. The teens, Hiccup's training group as well as the groups that had passed only a year or two ago, were to guard the docks, in case the Outcasts attacked while the majority of the Vikings were absent.

Hiccup couldn't see any way out of it, so he followed the other teens down to the docks. If there really had been Outcasts he probably would have snuck away, scouting the beaches with Toothless, but he knew there weren't. Now he was stuck with a group of people who lived to make him miserable. 'It's better than the alternative,' he told himself as they reached the docks.

Snotlout had already inserted himself with the older teens and, upon walking out onto the docks, promptly pushed Hiccup into the frigid water. He swallowed a mouthful, not expecting the dunking, and came up, sputtering and coughing, to the sound of laughter. Dogsbreath in particular seemed to find it amusing, using his foot to push Hiccup back under. Hiccup flailed, swallowing more water before surfacing again. He latched onto the dock, staring down at it and coughing wildly as he avoided the gazes of the other teens.

"He looks like a downed rat!" Tuffnut pointed out, sending the group into more laughter.

Hiccup knew better than to pull himself up and so clung to the dock, shivering and coughing until the group moved on, heading for the end of the pier. When all had left but Fishlegs and Astrid he pulled himself up, collapsing on the dock and coughing up more water as he sat there. He glanced up curiously at the two who remained, studying Astrid's disgusted stare and Fishlegs' look of pity.

"Why do you have to make it so easy for them?" Astrid demanded to know.

'Because I'm hoping that if I ignore them they'll go away,' he thought. 'Because I don't want to fight them.' He didn't voice either of these thoughts though – he knew that it wasn't what Astrid wanted to hear. Astrid was tough, the perfect example of a Viking. She believed in defending your tribe and yourself. She believed that everyone had to work together for the good of the tribe. Hiccup did not embody those values, he wasn't a Viking and Astrid had never seen him defend anything. Out of all the Vikings, Hiccup understood Astrid's motives the most.

When he didn't answer Astrid gave him another look of disgust and walked away, joining the other teens at the end of the dock. Hiccup turned to look at Fishlegs, who remained silent. The larger boy lowered himself onto the dock, sitting next to him.

Hiccup pulled himself up, sitting up straight and removing his water-laden vest. He handed it silently to Fishlegs, who took it and began to wring it out over the ocean. He then removed his boots, dumping the water out of them and placing them on the dock next to his wrung out shirt. After a moment of staring companionably out over the open water Hiccup spoke. "I wouldn't blame you if you sat by them," he told Fishlegs, still shivering slightly.

The larger Viking wasn't exactly accepted by his peers – due largely to the fact he enjoyed reading and learning about dragons – but they didn't ridicule him either. This was mainly because of his large stature and his tendency to go berserk if anyone tried to fight him. Fishlegs didn't dignify his comment with a response.

After another moment though, he spoke up. "How did you do so well in dragon training?" he asked.

"I …" Hiccup hesitated, holding back the lie he had prepared for this moment. Fishlegs was the closest thing he had to a friend – a human friend at least. He didn't want to lie to him. "When I was younger I ran into a Nadder during a raid. It was raiding the food shed and I thought I could take care of it," he began, deciding to tell Fishlegs a true story. It had happened one year after he had met Toothless, when he only understood a portion of Dragonese and before he knew the truth about the raids. "I tripped, naturally, but I got incredibly lucky. I tripped over a basket of fish which promptly spilled on the floor. To my surprise the Nadder hissed, backing out of the shed and flying away." He turned to Fishlegs, meeting the Vikings curious gaze. "Turns out dragons really hate eel. That's how I got the Zippleback into the cage." Hiccup left out the fact that he had asked Toothless about it later – and that he had tried to speak to the Nadder in the first place.

Fishlegs stared at him. "Hiccup that's incredible! You discovered something that even Bork the Bold didn't know!" he crowed, citing the author of _How to Train Your Dragon_. Hiccup ducked down, unused to such praise, even from Fishlegs. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" the Viking asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "It took me a while to realize it was the eel, not the fish," he reasoned. "Besides, they would have seen it as cheating. You're supposed to _fight_ the dragon," he said scornfully. "Not _frighten him_." He gestured toward the teens as he spoke and Fishlegs nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah," he answered gloomily. "I never was very good at that."

Hiccup glanced back up at Fishlegs, thought hard, and decided to take the chance. "Did you ever think there was more to dragons then most people believe?" he asked.

If he had asked another other Viking they would have been shocked before shrugging off the question and spouting some comment about mindless killers. But not Fishlegs. The teen nodded eagerly, glad to share his knowledge. "I've seen them," he spoke quickly and excitedly. "Sometimes it looks like they're talking to each other. And I've seen dragons protecting other dragons during the raid! Like they care about each other! It's fascinating!"

Hiccup turned to look at the other teens, listening in on their conversation about what they would do if they spotted the Outcasts, before turning and gazing into Fishlegs' eager expression. 'Can I trust him?' he wondered. 'If there was any Viking I could trust it would be Fishlegs.' He turned away from Fishlegs debating with himself, and gazed out over the ocean. The sea was calm and the sun was nice and warm on his wet form. He could feel Fishlegs deflating beside him at the lack of reaction and he couldn't stand to disappoint his old friend. "They can talk," he said slowly, still not looking at Fishlegs. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Fishlegs perk up beside him.

"What?" the Viking asked, staring at Hiccup incredulously.

"They can talk," Hiccup repeated, finally turning to look at Fishlegs. "I've … I've been studying them. They have their own language."

Fishlegs continued to stare, gazing at Hiccup with a mixture of shock, admiration, and respect. There was no trace of hatred or disgust in his face and Hiccup felt a wave of relief. Fishlegs wasn't going to accuse him of not being a Viking. He should have known – the larger boy loved learning above all else, a unique trait in Berk.

"All of them?" Fishlegs finally asked. "Like, even between the Gronckles and the Nadders and the Nightmares?"

Hiccup nodded. "All species speak the same language, even the Terrors and the Timberjacks," he said, mentioning one of the smallest and largest dragons.

Fishlegs' eyes widened. "You've seen a Timberjack? Those are really rare!"

Hiccup smiled, nodding slightly, and couldn't help but boast. "I've seen three," he told Fishlegs.

The teen looked at him with something akin to hero worship – Hiccup would know. He had only rescued two Timberjacks from the Green Death's thrall but those two Timberjacks had mated. Their son, Ripwing, was a good friend of Hiccups who practically worshiped him for freeing his mother and father. It had taken Hiccup a while to get used to the constant praise Ripwing heaped on him.

Feeling slightly ashamed of his boasting Hiccup shrugged. "I've spent a lot of time in the woods," he admitted modestly. "I was bound to see dragons eventually." Not to mention he spent half his time in the company of one.

The Viking beside him shifted uncomfortably at the subtle hint that Hiccup didn't enjoy his time in Berk.

"Would you believe me if I said not all dragons were bad?" Hiccup asked suddenly, before he could think twice about it and doubt himself.

Fishlegs opened his mouth, undoubtedly prepared to say no, before closing it again and appearing to think about Hiccup's words. "I suppose … I would," he finally said, seemingly surprised at his own words.

"Can I trust you to keep a secret?" Hiccup asked, gazing intently out over the ocean again.

"Why?" Fishlegs asked cautiously, uncertain as to where the conversation was heading.

"Because in this village we have a kill on sight policy when it comes to dragons," Hiccup responded bitterly.

"Alright," the Viking responded simply.

"Alright what?"

"I … I can keep a secret. But what does it have to do with killing dragons?"

"One day," Hiccup began, "quite some time ago, I found a dragon. And I didn't kill him."

"I haven't killed any dragons either," Fishlegs admitted.

"But I could have. He was wounded. Injured. Couldn't fly. But I looked at him, helpless and starving, and I didn't kill him."

There was a moment of silence. "What _did_ you do?"

Hiccup looked over at Fishlegs, debating whether or not he should tell him. He glanced back at the teens, making sure they were still caught up in their discussion, and then turned to the ocean once more. "I helped him."

Fishlegs didn't respond.

"Would you like to meet him?"

"Me … meet him?" Fishlegs stammered, taken by surprise.

Hiccup stared at him, waiting for a response. Finally, Fishlegs nodded.

There was a moment of silence as they both contemplated the teen's response. Hiccup didn't know if he had been expecting Fishlegs to agree or not, all he could think was that this definitely hadn't been how the day would turn out.

"Thanks," he eventually said.

Fishlegs nodded again but neither was sure where to go from there. The Viking was staring at Hiccup as though he had never seen him before, and was only just being introduced to him.

After a long stretch of silence both Hiccup and Fishlegs jumped at the loud shouts of the other Vikings on the dock. They were so caught up in their own conversation that they had forgotten they weren't alone. Hiccup turned to face the group, noticing at once that they were staring behind him, back at Berk. He twisted from his position on the dock, glancing up to find the Vikings had returned, Spitelout signaling to the teens that they were done watching the docks.

The teens eagerly left their position – having grown tired with the lack of action – tramping over Hiccups vest before he could pull it out of the way. Hiccup merely sighed tiredly once they had passed, pulling on the vest as he stood and slipping his feet into his still wet boots. Fishlegs also stood, the two of them forming the rear of the procession.

"When?" he asked quietly, mindful of the Vikings in front of them.

Hiccup turned to look at Fishlegs as they walked. "Now?" he offered hesitantly.

Fishlegs glanced at the roughhousing teens in front of him, steeled his resolve, and nodded. "Won't they notice if we leave?"

Hiccup shrugged. "They never notice when I leave," he said simply. Fishlegs sent him a look but followed obediently when Hiccup beckoned, separating from the rest of the Vikings. Hiccup led Fishlegs through the woods, taking the shortest route to the Cove. As he neared the cove he hesitated, turning to face Fishlegs. How could he have forgotten that the dragons from the arena were in there? Fishlegs would be sure to recognize them.

"I … there might have been something I forgot to mention," he offered hesitantly, turning to face the larger – and out of breath – teen.

Fishlegs struggled to catch his breath. "We're not there yet?" he asked, apparently not having heard Hiccup.

'Oops,' Hiccup thought to himself. 'Guess I'm quicker than I thought – then again, I do know this forest pretty well.' "No, we're here," he countered, "there's just, something I forgot to tell you."

Fishlegs looked nervous. "He's not going to attack me is he?"

Hiccup was quick to nod. "No! No, of course not. But, there's more than one dragon."

The Viking started. "What?! What do you mean more than one? How many?" he questioned nervously.

Mentally counting, Hiccup was quick to speak up, hoping that Fishlegs wouldn't back out. "Only six."

"Six!" Fishlegs' eyes widened. "You have six dragons?"

"They're not mine," Hiccup emphasized, hesitating once more, "… I rescued five of them." He watched Fishlegs closely, sure that the other teen was smart enough to figure out what he was saying.

"Rescued them from …" Fishlegs trailed off, staring at Hiccup in disbelief. "Hiccup, you didn't." He breathed out, eyes wide.

Hiccup just nodded.

"But that's … Hiccup what did you do?" Fishlegs asked, unable to put his thoughts into words, not wanting to insult the only person who had never insulted him.

"Believe me," Hiccup spoke quickly, "I had a reason, I can explain everything. It's not their fault that they raid us. There's this monster at the nest – it controls all the dragons. If they don't feed it they die. Have you ever wondered why they steal the food instead of just eating it?"

"They're … under control?" Fishlegs repeated, some of the fear that Hiccup was a traitor draining from his expression.

Hiccup nodded strongly. "If they don't feed it they'll _die_."

Fishlegs took a deep breath. "Alright. You're friends with dragons. Dragons are friendly. They speak their own language. They raid us because of some creepy mind control by some monster at their nest. Anything I miss?"

Hiccup shook his head. "It's alright if you don't want to do this."

Fishlegs stared at him, resolve seeming to creep over the large Viking. "That's the second stupid thing you've said to me today." Hiccup remembered when he had told Fishlegs that he wouldn't mind if the Viking joined his peers. "Where are the dragons."

Hiccup grinned. It seemed that, since he had agreed to meet the dragons, Fishlegs wasn't going to back out. "Through here," he gestured, leading Fishlegs into the Cove. He smiled proudly to himself. Finally, he was making some progress. A Viking of Berk was about to come face to face with dragons – and not try to kill them. He couldn't wait to see Fishlegs' face when he met Toothless.

* * *

**AN: So, a long wait, but not as long as last time. Hopefully I'll get better.**

**I must admit, this was not where I had intended to take things - Astrid was supposed to be the first to see the dragons. But then Snotlout had to push Hiccup in the water and Fishlegs wouldn't leave Hiccup by himself.**

**Anyway, I'm blown away by how much people seem to like this story. Over 100 follows! (and with only four chapters too!) Not to mention all of you wonderful reviewers. Thank you so much for your support.**

**Let me know how you thought it turned out!**


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